Chapter 158
Chapter 158
VENUS
The stench hit me before the sight did.
Copper. Old pennies. Sharp, metallic, suffocating.
My throat constricted, bile already clawing its way up.
60
Colton’s hands were still on my arms, but I wrenched against them, frantic, desperate. He didn’t move fast enough, didn’t block me well enough, and my eyes slipped past his frame into the apartment that used to be my home.
And then the world cracked open.
Martha was there.
Or what was left of her.
Her body slumped against the battered couch we’d sat on a thousand times. Her throat-god, her throat. Slashed wide, jagged, raw, a grotesque smile carved in blood. Her hands clutched at something-a paper, now soaked and scarlet, the edges curling from damp.
But it wasn’t just her.
The wall behind her was scrawled, smeared, painted in a message that made the room spin beneath my feet.
“I did you a favor, sweetheart p>
Written in what could only be her blood.
My stomach rebelled. I staggered sideways, choking, and doubled over. The vomit tore through me, acid burning, heaving until I was empty, until there was nothing left but dry sobs clawing out of me.
Colton caught me before I hit the floor, his hand steady against the back of my head, murmuring words I couldn’t hear over the roar in my ears.
Favor.
Sweetheart.
The words seared themselves into me, twisted knives digging deeper with every echo.
I was shaking so violently my teeth rattled. My knees buckled, my body giving out, but Colton held me upright, dragging me back, away from the doorway, away from the horror painted inside.
“Don’t look, Venus,” he said low, commanding. “Keep your eyes on me p>
But I couldn’t. The image was already burned into me. It would never leave.
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Chapter 158
Not the mangled body.
Not the blood-soaked letter.
Not the wall.
(60)
The sirens came first, distant at the edges of my haze. Then boots pounding on the stairs, voices clipped, commanding.
“Clear the hall. Everyone out p>
Uniforms swarmed the door. Guns, radios, gloves. One of them cursed low when he saw inside. Another barked orders. A third turned, face grim, and ordered Colton to take me downstairs.
“Get her out of here. Now p>
Colton didn’t argue. His hand gripped my shoulder, firm, guiding, but I resisted. My heels dragged against the floor.
“No. I need-I need to p>
“You don’t need to see this.” His voice was steel, unflinching. “Not like this. You’re leaving p>
I tried to argue, but the strength bled out of me. My body moved only because he moved it.
Down the stairwell.
Out the door.
Into the cold morning that should’ve been safe but wasn’t.
The air hit me, sharp and raw, but it didn’t clear the smell. The copper was still in my nose, coating my tongue, clinging to my skin.
I collapsed against the car. My hands were shaking so hard I couldn’t even hold myself upright.
Colton barked at his men, low and urgent, but I couldn’t make out the words. The world was muffled, underwater.
I was aware of people moving. Of police tape being strung. Of radios crackling. Of questions asked and answered. But none of it mattered.
All I saw was Martha’s blood on that wall.
All I heard was her voice in my memory, cold and cruel.
My My Mom,
All I felt was the acid still burning in my throat.
20:37 Wed, Jan 14
Chapter 158
Favor.
Sweetheart.
60
I didn’t even notice Colton had called until I heard his voice snapping into the phone.
Then another voice. Deeper. Sharper.
Aaron.
The sound of his name alone almost undid me.
Minutes blurred into moments, and then he was there.
His presence slammed into me before I even looked. A storm, a force. Aaron Sinclair was never just a man in a room-he was the gravity that pulled everything into orbit.
I looked up.
And he froze.
His eyes landed on me, and I saw it. The crack in him. The fury he tried to bury under control. The raw terror that I was breaking right there in front of him.
Colton stood near me, his hand still on my shoulder, and Aaron’s glare snapped to him first. A silent message, sharp enough to cut glass.
What the hell were you thinking?
Colton didn’t flinch. He never did. But his jaw clenched, his grip on me tightening just a fraction as if to say he wasn’t letting go until Aaron had me.
Then Aaron moved.
He dropped into a crouch in front of me, black suit cutting against the sunlight, his hands cupping my face, forcing me to look at him.
“Venus,” he rasped. Not Mr. Sinclair. Not the man the world knew. Just Aaron. Just mine.
My lips parted, but nothing came out.
He searched my face, his thumbs stroking my checks like he could coax life back into me. “Talk to me, princess. Yell at me. Cry. Anything. Just-don’t sit there like this p>
I blinked. Once. Twice. My throat burned with words that wouldn’t come.
He tried again, desperate now. “You’re safe. I’m here. Look at me. Don’t drift away from me, Venus p>
The dam inside me cracked.
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Chapter 158
open. Then
It wasn’t a sob, not at first. It was a sound torn from my chest, raw, primal, breaking me wide another followed. And another. Until I was collapsing forward, my body heaving, sobs choking me, tearing
me apart.
60
Aaron caught me, hauled me into his chest like he could shield me from the world, from the memory, from everything. His arms wrapped tight, unyielding, his hand cradling the back of my head as if I were breakable glass.
“Good girl,” he whispered into my hair, though his voice was cracked, raw. “That’s it. Let it out. I’ve got you. Always p>
I clung to him, fists curled in his shirt, sobbing until my throat was shredded and my lungs ached.
Somewhere in the haze, I felt him shift, his gaze still locked on Colton. The silent storm between them was loud enough I felt it in my bones.
But I didn’t care.
The only thing that mattered was Aaron’s arms around me, his voice anchoring me, his presence pulling me back from the brink.
The image of Martha’s body still burned behind my eyes, the words on the wall seared into my skull.
“I did you a favor, sweetheart p>
I shook harder, and Aaron only held me tighter, like he could squeeze the memory out of me.
But some things can’t be undone.
And this-this was only the beginning.
AD
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Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.